After six years as Ballard High School principal, Phil Brockman will be moving to a new position as executive director of schools for Seattle Public Schools. Assistant Principal Keven Wynkoop will be appointed interim principal for the 2010-2011 school year.

"This was a very difficult decision for me because I love my job and the Ballard community," Brockman said in a letter to parents. "These past six years have been an amazing experience and the most rewarding in my 27 years with Seattle Public Schools."

Members of the Ballard High School community are having complex reactions to the news. On the one hand, they will miss the leadership of Brockman and are sad to see him leave the school. On the other, they know the good he can do with a bigger role in the school district.

"I love him, I've loved working with him," said Lyn Porterfield, Ballard High School parent and member of the Ballard High School PTSA. "But, he's way too good to keep at one school."

Michael DuBell, Seattle School Board director for Ballard, expressed the same sentiment.

"It's a real opportunity for Seattle Public Schools," DuBell said. "He has too much talent to just be assigned one school, in my opinion."

DuBell said Brockman's appointment to executive director of schools is a reflection of his many talents and his 27 years of experience. He said Brockman has a wonderful leadership style and builds confidence in those who work with him.

Kristina Anderson, Ballard High School activities and athletics coordinator, said Brockman is universally respected by his staff.

She said he trusts his staff, giving them room to take risks, while being supportive and avoiding the spotlight.

"He feels like a team member," Anderson said. "He wants to be treated as just a member of the team."

In a letter nominating Brockman for the first-ever Washington Music Educators Association Administrator of the Year Award earlier this year, teachers Courtney Rowley and Michael James said: "Phil Brockman is the most supportive, caring and respected administrator we have ever had the privilege to work for."

Jeff Gordon, Ballard High School student-body president, said Brockman was out in the halls before school, during break and lunch and after school to talk and chat with students. He knew everyone and everyone knew him, Gordon said.

"There is no getting around it, Mr. Brokman was the best head-Beaver Ballard has seen in years," he said. "He helped make Ballard a place where it's 'always great to be a Beaver.'"

Anderson said Brockman, who is a Ballard High School graduate, has a familial relationship with the school that will be hard to match.

If anyone has a chance of replicating that relationship, it is assistant principal and third-generation Ballard High School graduate Keven Wynkoop.

Porterfield said Wynkoop is a fantastic administrator who has learned a lot in his six years under Brockman's wing.

Wynkoop has some big shoes to fill, but he is invested in Ballard High School and cares about it deeply, said PTSA Vice President Jerri Harden. She said Wynkoop is younger and will have a different style and energy than Brockman, but he is no less dedicated.

DuBell said it is a bit of a jump for Wynkoop to have his first principal appointment in one of the district's largest schools, but he is capable and will do fine.

"He knows Ballard as well as anybody," DuBell said.

Wynkoop said his promotion is bittersweet; the positives of his new opportunity are tempered by the reality of Brockman leaving. But, after 11 years at Ballard High School, he is thrilled to become its principal.

Wynkoop said his first five years at the school were characterized by turmoil. Brockman coming in to calm the school was the best possible thing for Ballard, he said.

Since that time, Brockman has been his mentor in matters both practical and philosophical, Wynkoop said.

"The conversations we have had over the years have done more to shape me as a leader over the years than any class," he said. "My success as a principal is going to grow out of Phil's mentorship."

Wynkoop said he hopes to take what Brockman has done well and grow in those areas. He said he won't make wholesale changes but will look for opportunities to make everything they do better.

"Every year is a chance to do things better," he said.

Porterfield said Ballard High School is in a good position moving forward. Brockman has worked hard during the past six years to put good people in place at the school, she said.

In the newly created position of executive director of schools, Brockman will be one of five people who could be overseeing as many as 20 prekindergarten to high schools, providing support, supervision and evaluation of principals.

“We are thrilled to have Phil Brockman joining our Teaching and Learning Leadership Team as executive director of schools,” said Dr. Susan Enfield, chief academic officer for Seattle Public Schools. “Mr. Brockman is well-qualified for the position, having served during the 2006-2007 school year as the district’s interim director of high schools. In addition, he is well-respected by both staff and the community.”

Executive directors of schools will be split up by region, and it is possible Brockman would maintain oversight of Ballard High School.

DuBell and Porterfield both expressed hope that Brockman would be assigned to oversee Ballard High School. Regardless, having Brockman's voice within Seattle Public Schools will be a good thing for Ballard, Porterfield said.

"He's a Beaver," Porterfield said. "He's a total Beaver."